Monthly Archives: February 2014

When To Evict? How New Landlords Can Know When To Start Eviction Proceedings

All landlords would happily go their whole lives without having to evict any of their tenants. When eviction proceedings are called for, it means that something has obviously gone very wrong in the agreement. Making the decision to evict can be a very difficult process for landlords, no one wants to throw people out on the streets, but despite your best efforts as a landlord, so tenants don’t keep their side of the bargain and you are then well within your rights to obtain a court order to get them out. Remember, you are running a business and it could seriously damage your business and ultimately destroy it if you let the triumvirate of bad tenants, debtors, destroyers and violators, run roughshod over you.

Debtors

The most common reason why you would want to get someone out of your property is that they have not been paying their rent. Depending on your state, they will usually have a few days leeway, between 3 to 5 days normally, to pay up before you can start proceedings. You can, at your own discretion allow them a little longer if you know they are usually good payers and are creditworthy. Most tenants either forget to pay their rent once or twice, or struggle for a month or two, and a good landlord will be able to tell the difference between absent-mindedness and true delinquency. However, don’t take ignorance as an excuse, there is no need any more for tenants not to know your and their rights, and a good landlord will also be firm with their tenants and say that if they cannot afford the rent every month then maybe they should look for somewhere cheaper.

Destroyers

Whereas with people missing their rental payment you can often make a subjective assessment of the situation and see that some people don’t mean to miss their payments and will only be a day or two late, you should take a much firmer stance against those that wilfully destroy property. Property destruction can be difficult to assess unless you have regular access to the property. Make sure you check up on any house or apartment that you think might be at risk on a regular basis, remembering to give the tenants the required notice of you visiting their home (usually at least 24 hours). This is a good reason to cultivate good relationships with all your tenants. If one think that another might be causing damage, they are more likely to tell a friendly landlord than a difficult one. There is almost never a good reason for property damage and unless the tenant immediately called the problem to your attention and offered recompense, you are completely within your rights to start eviction proceedings, probably the sooner the better.

Violators

Most other evictions will come as the result of violations of the tenancy agreement, and that will be down to exactly what you have prohibited in your properties. These might be fairly minor such as the rules for pets in the property, noise restrictions or restrictions on the number of guests allowed to stay and for how long. If you have put limitations such as these in your tenancy agreements then you should enforce them, otherwise they are useless. Every tenant should look over the agreement before signing and if their 20-pound Chihuahua is actually a 70-pound German Shepard then they should think twice rather than trying to pull the wool over your eyes. Again, the course of action you take is at your discretion, but any court will uphold an eviction order if the tenant has blatantly broken the rules. Though you might overlook the odd violation you have to seriously consider that this might lead to further breaking of the rules, and can have a negative effect on other tenants, especially concerning such things as noise pollution. If you are seen as too much of a soft touch, it can encourage people to flaunt the agreement, leading to more serious issues within your community. Any illegal activity, such as recreational narcotics use, may be immediate grounds for eviction and you should start the process without delay.

It is important to remember that however annoying and terrible a tenant may be, you can and should never evict them yourselves. You have entered into a legal agreement with these people, and it can only be dealt with by the courts. Do not change locks or throw people’s belongings into the street as it is you that will be hauled up in front of a judge rather than them. Contact professionals and contact the courts and start proceedings as soon as possible and then let the law deal with the debtors, destroyers and violators while you concentrate on your decent tenants.